Far West council approves West Creek subdivision and site plan after resident raises notice, light and noise concerns

The Far West City Council voted to approve the West Creek final subdivision and the West Creek 2 site plan at its June meeting after councilors and the developer described setbacks, open-space buffers and dark-sky lighting requirements intended to protect nearby homes.

Resident Jason Shank, who said his backyard borders the canal near the business park, told the council he “just barely found out about this on Facebook two days ago,” and asked whether buildings could be moved farther from homes, whether trees or other buffers would be planted and whether nighttime loading or security lighting might affect neighbors. “My backyard faces the canal… I have concerns about noise issues, the lighting issues,” Shank said.

Developer representative Daniel (Mr. Stevens) told the council the approved development agreement includes height restrictions and setback requirements. He said a maintained open-space buffer along the northern boundary provides a 100-foot setback from the creek and that, when paired with a 66-foot roadway and parking/landscape setbacks, residents will have “at least right near 200 if if not more before we hit a building.” He also said proposed lighting will comply with dark-sky requirements.

Council members said the overall development and development agreement were negotiated beginning in 2024, that public hearings and work sessions were part of that process, and that the city has recently added an app called Penny and posts notices at farwestcity.gov to broaden resident outreach. Councilor Katie said she and staff would provide a copy of the plans to the resident who raised concerns.

The council approved the subdivision and, in a separate motion, the West Creek 2 site plan after discussing landscaping, building orientation and placement of loading docks between buildings to buffer nearby houses. The city noted that pending approval letters remain outstanding from Weber Fire District and Bonavista and that future tenants must obtain city permits and occupancy approvals prior to operation.

What’s next: staff said the developer will submit final building-permit materials — including proposed materials and color schemes required by the development agreement — and the city will provide those documents to nearby residents upon request. The council also encouraged residents to participate in the upcoming general-plan update cycle, which staff said is the appropriate time to influence future land-use designations.